02/06/2020
📀💥 Thanks for the review !!!! 👇
☠️
“The Pain, the Blood and the Sword” is a historic record. An album that crowns the career of Lion’s Law, a band that I have been following since their first rehearsal and whose evolution I’ve been closely checking out these years. This is not a full-blown review, my affections don’t allow me to be completely objective ... It’s my personal opinion, period. In any case, little can be exaggerated when describing the sensations generated by this album, released by The A-Team of underground labels.
First of all, all glory to the mix and master, as they are exquisite; nothing encapsulated, nothing too colorful or too opaque, good volume, good texture. This record has a round, defined and clean character. It is not gross, it’s heavy and it is not neurotic, it’s furious: it sounds epic for its success putting all the pieces together and for the great maturity of melodies and interpretation, not because it’s especially different from the rest of LL’s work, as many have said, or because they have put liters of adrenaline in their composition, nope: every drop was measured. As for the musicians, I’ll say Swann (bass) was prodigious as always; there is little to say about him, except that it is a Jazz Bass and some Ernie Ball strings (45-105) what gives the characteristic touch to this compadre. In PBS the extra brightness may have been given by a P-Bass, but I'm not sure about that, I'll ask. On the other hand, the lyrics no longer lose a minute: lots of flesh, lots of twists, a lot of emotions. “On the frontline” and “Watch‘em die” times are left way behind, in addition to the voice, which has finally captured the ultimate style for which Wattie will be remembered. Finally, Thomas' bridges and breaks, very much his, fit like a Swiss watch. It's been a long time since the 80’s and the most veteran keeps teaching his stuff. Let me talk about a few songs.
Destin Criminel (A4): my favorite with no doubt. It has this Syndrome 81 arôme at the beginning that I love. It is, in general, a very, very Wattie song. Interestingly, it is also his favorite (I bet many others’ too), no wonders if his personality stands out so much in it. Escape (A5): this is the place where LL was going to get while developing its style, you just had to wait. A good summary of their work. Glorious choirs and very fine and worked counterpoints. LL’s rhythm at its best. Un jour (A6): this song is perfectly placed on the A side. It seems silly, but putting it there balances the whole album in a phenomenal way. It’s also a success that it is sung in French. Will the next album be all in French? I would love to ... We will have to wait for the Loi de Lion ... Roses and Fire (A7): the HxC liberation that finally explodes. A muscular drive that fans have been announcing for a long time, and that really had to be released. At the end of the A side, it is perfectly placed: it forces you to flip the record over and keep listening. Very good exploration, a gem. Fidele (B1): it is an anthem that we all want to sing. It looks like a Parisian choir inviting you to make part of BSC: I miss Paris. Damaged Heart (B2) - This track makes me think of Millencolin and NOFX for the back voices and the bass. The idea gives a very good result, with a very emotional and balanced piece despite the contrast of the Californian voices of the choir and the main voice, broken and Newyork-ish, more dense and aggressive. The song’s position within the album refreshes it. 10/10. Sablier (B4): it seems like a compendium of melodic choirs accompanying a narcissistic exercise by Swann and that has a very interesting cathedral-effect result (au revoir, Madame). It doesn’t especially contribute to the album but it adds sound elements that merited being included. Plus, Swann deserves it. Revenge (B5): this track brings me back to “Open your eyes”. Here it begins to smell like record’s coming to an end. The refrain repeats over and over what could be a statement, saying "this is our revenge." The guitar solo is very eloquent in this regard: we have reached the cream of the crop by plenty of work and struggle. Pathfinder (B6): in case it wasn’t clear, this song is a reminder that tells us that LL hits very, very hard, that it has a consolidated style to spare, and that you’ll never forget this record. Guitar and bass solos and arrangements are perhaps a bit baroque, but that keeps it up until the end. That it has little back voices (this lonely one answering from the distance) makes it desperate, raw. A very good tune. 10/10. Destined to fall (B7): Finally, we have in the last track the romantic taste left by this LP... The peak of Lion's Law, the name of his legacy. Fast and brutal. The realisation of the job: hardcore, but ALWAYS Lion's Law. A farewell pogo, which ends slower, high up in the sky ...
It is Wattie, Daick, Swann, Louis and good Thomas looking down on us. It's a K.O kick in the mouth at the exact moment of a show: Boom! That was Lion's Law mo********er! At the end you can, already defeated, see Olympus, where the show ends and the gods die. I can’t wait to hear the resurrection.
